Mr Scott told the court his wife's health had subsequently gone downhill, she had never been the same person again and had died in 1989.

The two girls, both aged 17, were last seen at the World's End pub in Edinburgh's Royal Mile in October 1977.

Their bodies were found in separate locations in East Lothian the next day.

They brought Helen's clothing and they told us they assumed it was her that had been found

Morain Scott

The trial heard how Mr Scott's wife died in 1989.

He said his daughter had never stayed out all night before and her mother waited for her rather than go to bed.

On the Sunday they contacted one of Helen's friends to see if she had stayed there. They also went to Ms Eadie's flat.

That afternoon they went to the police.

Mr Scott said: "The first indication we got was we heard something on the radio about a body being found down Aberlady way and we phoned the police then and they said they had nothing for us and, later on, we learned there had been another person found and then we had a phone call from the police."

Mr Scott replied: "They told us ... they brought Helen's clothing and they told us they assumed it was her that had been found but she had to be identified by someone in the family."

Margaret Craig, Christine Eadie's mother, also appeared as a witness.

She said the last occasion on which she had seen her daughter was on the Thursday morning before the Saturday she went missing in October 1977.

Earlier, the trial heard from pathologist Professor John Mason, who took part in the post-mortem examinations of the two girls.

He said both girls died as a result of ligatures tied around their necks and took "minutes" to die.

While being questioned by defence agent Edgar Prais QC, the 87-year-old former Edinburgh University professor of forensic medicine said he was unable to give a precise length of time it took for the girls to die.

However, he agreed with Mr Prais that Ms Scott's death "didn't happen with the click of a finger".

Special defence

"All I can say is that I would have to measure that in a matter of minutes," the witness said.

Prof Mason was also asked a number of questions about the methods used by pathologists at the time of the deaths.

"Do you agree professor that in the 21st Century DNA world things would be different?" Mr Prais asked.

"Everything would be different," the witness said.

Mr Sinclair has been accused of acting alongside his now deceased brother-in-law, Gordon Hamilton in raping and murdering the girls after forcing them into a vehicle near the pub in the Royal Mile.

Mr Sinclair will issue a special defence that any sexual contact with the girls was consensual and may put forward evidence blaming his late brother-in-law for any wrongdoing.